


eye for an eye

by saintpyrite



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Gen, Platonic Relationships, Resurrection, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28814139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintpyrite/pseuds/saintpyrite
Summary: Tommy and Tubbo have one last life each, they have to be careful but Tommy has never been good at following instructions.
Relationships: Dream SMP Ensemble & TommyInnit
Comments: 6
Kudos: 180





	eye for an eye

For the third time in his young life, Tommy could taste gunpowder and smoke on the end of his tongue. 

Fire and explosives erupted across the battlefield, a war in full swing breaking out around him. There wasn't a second to waste on thinking about how they'd got here, how quickly everything had descended into chaos. 

All there was left to do was defend their lives, push back against the three men who sought out destruction upon their great nation, the ones who had reduced it to rubble and ash. 

Tommy stood in the remains of what he once called home, a nation he had built with his blood, sweat and tears. Regardless of being disgraced, exiled and allying himself with the likes of Technoblade, Tommy never took the chance for vengeance. 

He wasn't like Technoblade; he'd always return home and his home was Tubbo. 

That's why he stood with him now, against all the odds pitted against them. They had their own parts to conduct in Wilbur's great unfinished symphony and they would see it through to the bitter end. 

"Tommy!" Technoblade's voice echoed like thunder in his ears, his laughter deep and void of anything meaningful to Tommy now, "Look around you!" 

Tommy didn't need to do so, he knew the extent of the damage. L'Manberg was merely a crater now, a reminder of loss and a lesson taught in fear. He kept his eyes on the piglin warrior, shield raised and axe at the ready. 

"This is the end of your government, Tommy; the end of your L'Manberg!" Techno bellowed, stepping down from the rubble and making his way towards Tommy, his sword in hand. "This is what happens when you let yourself be controlled by laws and regulations that do nothing to help those they serve, only oppress them!" 

Tommy peered from behind his shield, taking a step back and steadying his stance, "You're fucking insane!" 

Technoblade sneered, coming to an abrupt halt, "You're a child, what would you know? Why would you protect the very thing that holds you back?" 

"I'm not protecting some fucking laws or anything as daft as that!" Tommy yelled, smoke and fire in his lungs. There was a wildfire in him, one he'd seen in Wilbur once, and he was going to burn away the binds that tied him down, the people that truly held him back from who he wanted to be.

"What could you possibly be protecting then?" 

"I'm protecting what was important to Wilbur; what is important to me!" 

"I'm just finishing what Wilbur started," the piglin shook his head before charging forward, sword swinging against the shield. The wood splintered and Tommy felt his bones rattle from the force. The two pushed against one another, each parry deafening as netherite met iron. 

Technoblade was wrong, Tommy knew that now. 

L'Manberg was more than a country, it was more than the government that ran it. It was  _ home _ because it was the country Wilbur had built up with his bare hands, the place Tommy had sacrificed so much for, the place that Tubbo had done everything to preserve. 

They'd all loved and lost for L'Manberg, for its people. 

Rolling away from Technoblade's next swing across the uneven ground, armor and clothes snagging across rubble, Tommy took in his surroundings in hopes of an opening. 

There was little chance of beating Techno this way, he'd have to put up some distance and regroup with Tubbo instead. Speaking of which, where was Tubbo? 

As he broke into a sprint, trying to put some distance between himself and the piglin, he searched the grounds for any sign of his friend. That's when he caught sight of  _ him _ , high in the air like some god seated above his creations. 

_ Dream _ . 

The man himself called down to him, "Tommy!" 

"Fuck off, Dream!" Tommy yelled back, he didn't want to play mind games anymore. 

Dream laughed at the response, reaching up to lift his mask just halfway as he walked along his obsidian walkway, "Looking for someone?" 

Coming to a halt, Tommy's heart sank as he saw that  _ monster _ drag Tubbo forward to the edge, hand axe pressed against the curve of his throat so the small boy wouldn't fight back. 

"No," Tommy whispered before calling up, desperation raw in his words, "Dream, let him go!" 

"Alright," Dream shrugged and the cruel laughter that followed was enough to make anyone regret their words, seeing Dream pull back his axe and shove Tubbo from the edge. 

"Tubbo!" 

His voice carried across the battlefield, weapons discarded and forgotten in favour of running through the crater, anything to reach Tubbo before he hit the ground. He was so close, hands outstretched to catch his friend until a wither's explosive projectile sent him flying backwards. 

Groaning, his armor digging into him and his head spinning from the impact, Tommy took a few seconds that felt like an eternity to remember what he was doing before the wither attacked. Scrambling to get back to his feet, he looked around panicked and out of sorts for Tubbo. 

He hadn't been the only one to take a fall, Tubbo had landed with a great  _ thud _ , his cry of pain turning heads. There was the glint of an ender pearl rolling towards him, enough of a warning for anyone nearby. 

"Tubbo--" Tommy gripped his helmet, throwing it off as he tried to steady himself. "Fucking hell, Tubbo, get out of there!" 

Tubbo was lucky he could move, the pain shooting through the brunette as he shuffled backwards. He couldn't stand, one of his legs bent at an unyielding angle. The boy's face drained of all colour when he heard the ender pearl come to a stop, Dream's footsteps resounding through the destruction as he appeared from thin air. 

"I'm surprised you survived the fall," Dream toyed with the end of his sword, as if contemplating his next action. "You are resilient, Tubbo, I'll give you that."

Tommy felt his armor weighing him down, unclipping it as he made his way towards them. He wouldn't let Tubbo die at the mercy of their greatest enemy. 

Everything slowed around him, the only thing that could be moving in his small little world right now was himself, Tubbo and Dream. 

Dream raised his blade towards Tubbo, "Any final words, President Tubbo?"

* * *

He finds himself in the dark. 

It's a void that stretches out in every direction, endless and vast. It's just  _ there _ and Tommy happens to be in it, as if he was stuck in the middle of the ocean. 

Time doesn't appear to flow and everything feels so still. He starts walking mindlessly, there is no sound to his footsteps though. It's as if he doesn't exist. 

"Hello?" Tommy cups his hands around his mouth, frowning when it feels as if his voice doesn't carry, "Where the fuck am I?" 

He keeps going for what feels like forever, scaring him enough for the frustration to kick in. Tommy tries going back the other way but he can't be certain what direction he even came from. 

"This is just ridiculous, holy shit, anyone want to help me out here?!" 

"You're dead, Tommy," a voice says behind him, the familiarity stopping the blond dead in his tracks. 

Turning slowly, he spots a figure in the haze of nothingness and his blood runs cold, maybe it isn't even doing that if he's dead. He can believe it though, knowing who's there to greet him in the afterlife. 

Wilbur looks the same, the long trench coat and tired eyes with dark circles under them. He's sporting a neck injury and two lovely chest wounds though, Tommy can guess where they're from. 

Despite that, it's still Wilbur standing there waiting. There are no words though, Tommy has never been good at expressing himself with words. 

Instead, he grabs Wilbur by the lapels of his coat and bares his teeth, a snarl dying out as a sob rises through his chest and rips itself from his throat. 

Tommy wants to be angry, he wants to scream and yell and punch Wilbur in his stupid fucking face but he's dead now, he's dead and Wilbur is here, so close that when his brother pulls him into an embrace, he feels small again. 

The two stayed that way for a time, Wilbur soothing him with words and rubbing his back as Tommy sobbed out everything he'd held back. It felt like old times when Tommy was small and Wilbur was less insane. 

He only pulled back when he felt his breathing even out and the embarrassment reaching new heights, Tommy rubbing at his eyes and sniffling, "I can't believe you're here." 

"I'm dead, Tommy, who else would you have preferred to greet you?" Wilbur scoffed, his lips pulling into an amused smirk. "Mexican Dream? Schlatt?" 

"Schlatt's here?" Tommy blinked owlishly before shaking his head, "It's not what I meant anyway, I just thought with--" 

"Ghostbur?" Wilbur drawled, pulling out a cigarette packet from his pocket. The cigarette lit with a simple wave across the end, the soft blue glow illuminating Wilbur's features. "I wouldn't question it; you know, it didn't surprise me one bit when I found out you were here." 

"Dream, he--" 

"Stabbed you," Wilbur finished for him, taking a drag on the cigarette before pressing a finger against a neat cut through his chest. "Right here." 

His fingers traced the wound under his shirt. That's right, Dream had tried to kill Tubbo and may have succeeded if Tommy hadn't got there first, shielding Tubbo with his body. 

He'd sacrificed himself for Tubbo.

"A hero's death," Wilbur echoed before inhaling, smoke coming from his lips in wisps as he breathed out. "It shouldn't have happened in the first place. I should have been there."

Tommy agreed, he should have been there but his mind was still wrapping itself around the concept of this being the end, "So that's it then? I'm just dead?" 

"This is it, welcome to the afterlife." 

Tommy grumbled as he took in the nothingness around them, "It could use more cobblestone." 

It wasn't supposed to be this way; Tommy was supposed to get back his discs, fighting Dream with Tubbo by his side. They'd get them back and live out the rest of their lives in peace, hide away from the world that had hurt them so badly. They were supposed to get a good ending out of all this. 

Abrupt and demanding, "I have to go back." 

A chuckle followed the stunned silence, Wilbur's body sagging under the weight of his own sins. He gave a soft smile, "I'd call you an idiot, you did just lose your last life  _ but _ it isn't impossible; Jack Manifold managed it." 

"Wait, Jack Manifold?" Tommy raised an eyebrow in surprise and curiosity before pushing the many questions he had aside for now, "Let's just ignore the fact that Jack Manifold can just cheat death while you're bloody stuck here, do you know how I can get back?" 

"Just look behind you and listen for once," Wilbur gestured with his cigarette, his movements sluggish as he pointed behind Tommy. What once was nothing but darkness, now a light was shining in the distance. 

Tommy watched the light ebb and intensify, so bright and yet, it felt miles away. He looked back at Wilbur with uncertainty, "Come with me?" 

"It's not my time to live, Tommy," Wilbur replied, smoke curling around and framing his face. "You got this, Tommy." 

His chest tightened when Wilbur smiled at him, genuine as if they were back in their little caravan. Before there was L'Manberg or Pogtopia, before there were presidents and kings. This was Wilbur, his brother, smiling back at him right now and it made Tommy feel invincible. 

"I'm proud of you, Tommy," and with that, Wilbur gave him a salute. 

Tommy smiled, saluting back as he watched Wilbur disappear into the void, nothing but the soft blue flickers of ash at his feet to remind him the man was ever there, "Goodbye, Wilbur."

He makes his way in the opposite direction, towards the bright light cutting through the darkness. He hears the murmurs of voices he was beginning to forget, their names on the end of his tongue. When he reaches the light, he takes one step in front of the other. 

He had plenty to live for; it wasn't his time to die yet.

* * *

"Tommy!" 

Everything came to a standstill, time itself slowing down when Dream had struck down Tommy. The blade had pierced through him, rooting itself between his ribs and as Dream took a step back, it ripped and tore through flesh in an effort to dislodge itself from the dying boy. 

Nobody had seen it coming though, not even Dream expected Tommy to give up his last life for Tubbo without hesitation. Tommy had always found new ways to surprise him, it's what made him so fun but now, the fun had come to an end. 

Tommy fell forward, taking all of Tubbo's remaining strength to hold the blond upright. Blood seeped through the white of Tommy's shirt, soaking through onto Tubbo and the earth around them. 

There was  _ so much blood _ and Tubbo didn't know what to do, trembling like a leaf as he tried to position Tommy comfortably against a nearby slab despite his broken leg. He was only aggravating his own injuries now but adrenaline carried him through the pain, the only thing that mattered right now was Tommy. 

"Tommy, come on," Tubbo lightly slapped his hand against his friend's cheek, laughing bitterly as he tried to hold back the tears welling up in him, "This isn't funny, say something already!" 

Tommy couldn't be dead, it couldn't end this way for them. 

People grew closer and crowded around them, pushing past Dream and Techno who stood in awe of what had transpired. Even Phil, eyes wide with horror and hands over his mouth to hold back a sob, forced his way through the crowd to find the bloodied Corpse of his youngest, watching as Tubbo tried everything to stop the bleeding of a wound he couldn't hope to fix with words alone. 

"Tommy, please hang on," Tubbo sobbed, the pain of grief outweighing his battered and bruised body, "You can't die now; you said we were going to get the discs back so everything can go back to normal, so we could have peace!" 

He buried his face into his bloodied hands, leaning over Tommy's body with his hands weakly pressed against the wound, "You had to play the hero, didn't you, you selfish prick." 

Phil fell to his knees beside him, dark feathers covering the pair as his shaking hands reached out to push back Tommy's dirtied curls to see those lifeless eyes once as blue as the sky itself. 

"Oh, Tommy…" Phil whispered, his voice cracking as guilt gripped him. He met Tubbo's eyes, finding nothing but fury and fire. "Tubbo, I'm so sorry…"

"Get away from him, Phil!" Tubbo felt as if he had to protect Tommy's body, preserve it from a harbinger of destruction. He pulled the corpse closer, holding it tight in his arms as he glared at the man. "This is your fault, you and Dream and Techno did this to him!" 

Phil stumbled to his feet, fingers looping around a cord on his belt and pulling the totem from its resting place at his hip. He studied it, turning it over in his hands before pressing it into Tubbo's hands by force when the boy tried to move away. 

He kept Tubbo's gaze, confusion and anger at the action, "I'm sorry, it wasn't meant to be this way…" 

Tubbo's grip on the totem tightened, teeth clenched and body tense as it sheltered Tommy from the gentle rainfall that began to wash away the blood on the battlefield, "I never want to see you around him again, Phil." 

Regardless of whether Phil was Tommy's father or not, he had brought violence and chaos to their doorstep and called it a lesson. He treated them like children and children they may be but they had experienced war and bloodshed just as much as any man had. He allowed this to happen, encouraged it even and for that, Phil didn't deserve his thanks. 

Phil took a step back, only pulled further back when Technoblade grabbed his arm and began to drag him from the crowd, Quackity advancing on the pair with axe in hand and an urge to draw blood. 

"Phil," Technoblade tugged on Phil again, dragging him away from Quackity and the likes of Sapnap and Sam readying their weapons. "We have to go now, Phil!" 

The two anarchists fled the scene, the last Tubbo saw of them was the conflict on their faces at the sight of Tommy in his arms. He could hear Quackity amongst the murmurs and whispers, scavenging a shield from the ground. 

"I'm going to kill them!" 

"Quackity," Tubbo tried to keep his voice steady and firm, commanding as a president should, but deep down he was terrified. "They're not important right now." 

He thanked Eret quietly when the man approached, shrugging off his mantle to create a makeshift pillow for Tommy's head and Puffy rushed over, tearing into the fabric of her coat and calling for materials to help fix up Tubbo's broken leg. It was the closest to care he'd felt in a long time, the past few months had been nothing but hell for him.

It meant nothing without Tommy though, as grateful as he was. He felt Eret take the totem from him as he turned it over in his hands, uncertain how it worked. 

"These are almost impossible to find," Eret hummed as he offered Tubbo a small smile, "A totem of undying can resurrect the dead, it might still work." 

"When did you do research into resurrection?" Quackity narrowed his eyes at the king, the mistrust clear in his voice. Tensions had yet to ease up between the two apparently. 

"I have my reasons," Eret kept their answer curt, looking past Quackity to watch Wilbur surveying the damage done to his home before he looked back at Tubbo. "Tommy might still be hanging on in there somewhere, the totem should activate if he's fighting and knowing him, Tommy will be." 

Shifting, Tubbo let Tommy lay against Eret's cloak and took in the damage. He remembered when Tommy was free of long-lasting scar tissue, he wondered if Tommy woke up sometimes and felt the pain seep through his wounds the way Tubbo did. Nodding, he took the totem back and curled Tommy's hands around it, keeping his own hands clamped tight over them to keep the totem steady. 

He waited and waited and he  _ prayed _ . 

Minutes passed and nothing happened, the sound of rain, laboured breathing and blood rushing in his ears was the only thing Tubbo could hear but he wasn't willing to give up yet. If it had been the other way around, Tommy wouldn't have given up on him either. 

Tubbo kept mumbling words in hopes it'd coax Tommy from the other side, repeating them like a mantra, "Come on, Tommy; it's you and me against the world. It's meant to be." 

"I don't think it's going to work," Fundy said, his voice soft and filled with guilt and regret. "Tubbo, I don't--" 

The fox was silenced as the totem's eyes lit up, a soft green glow that flickered in and out of existence. Tubbo's eyes widened, sitting upright and hands tightening around the cold ones he held, "Tommy?" 

"He's still in there somewhere," Quackity laughed, relief washing over him, "The crazy fucker, of course he's still in there!" 

"Tommy, can you hear me?!" Tubbo had to hold back his hopes, lest they be dashed but he could sense it. It wasn't just the magic in the totem that felt alive, it was as if the energy in the totem was lighting a fire inside Tommy and warming him up. 

A white light encompassed Tommy, the blood running backwards and the chest wound sealing as if time itself was being unravelled. Closing his eyes against the intensity of the light, Tubbo put the remainder of his strength into keeping Tommy's hands enveloped tightly in his own. 

Only when the light dimmed did Tubbo dare to ask, watching as Eret searched for a pulse, "Is he?" 

A twitch of a finger gave him away, a soft groan and the scrunching up of his eyes. A chorus of cheers and laughter broke out, relief becoming an overwhelming sensation that pushed Tubbo to tears when blue eyes met his gaze. 

Even with the tears blurring his vision, he could see the lopsided grin on Tommy's face like the smug bastard he was, "Hey, what'd I miss?" 

"Tommy!" He threw his arms around his friend, trapping him in a hug that got a soft  _ ooft _ out of the blond. "If you ever think about doing something like that again, I'll kill you myself!" 

Tommy let out a grunt, his arms hovering as he tried to figure out what to do with his hands in the daze of coming back from the dead. Normally, he wouldn't return the gesture when they were surrounded by so many people but he let himself hug Tubbo back just this once, to hell with embarrassment. 

"God, you're so damn clingy," Tommy teased, comforted by the warmth of his friend. His tone softened to a whisper, "We stick together, right?" 

Tubbo nodded, pulling back with a grin of his own despite the tears, "We stick together." 

Dream wouldn't kill them that easily. They would either die together or they'd win together. There was no compromise. 


End file.
